PAUL KELLY, the man from Wagga Wagga has been given
an honour alongside the greats of Bradman, Noble, O'Reilly, Churchill and Walters.

Yesterday, the SCG Trust named part of its real estate, the Swans players' tunnel at the
SCG, the "Paul Kelly Race".

A commemorative brass plaque was unveiled on Wednesday to acknowledge Kelly's 12-year
career with the Sydney FC and a permanent place in Sydney's sporting lore.

Early Tuesday afternoon I received a request from the Swans for some specific information
on Paul, in which something was mentioned about a *race tomorrow*  without
explanation I thought, they must have named the 3.20 at Randwick after him ...

Together with the incredibly efficient AFL master statsman COL HUTCHINSON, the Trust were
delivered with information that Paul Kelly 

<> played 234 career matches (1990-2002) of which 108 were played at the SCG.
<> of his 200 career goals, 116 were kicked at the SCG.
<> he played in six AFL finals, in which he kicked five goals.
<> in his Brownlow Medal winning season of 1995, Paul played in all 22 games when
the club won 8, lost 12, and finished in 12th position (of 16 clubs) on the League
premiership ladder.

RAMANAUSKAS HAS LOW-GRADE CANCERThe popular Essendon player ADAM RAMANAUSKAS has
been given an encouraging prognosis on being diagnosed with low-grade cancer in the neck
and shoulder.

Adam had an operation last week to remove a lump, but specialists elected not to proceed..

ABC Sport reports: He will begin a six week course of radiotherapy next week but doctors
are confident the cancer can be treated and Ramanauskas will be able to resume playing
next season.EAGLES AND PORT FACE DECISIONS
Port Adelaide selectors will face a tough decision today on which players will be cut from
the team which defeated Carlton last Sunday. NICK STEVENS (ankle) BRETT MONTGOMERY (back)
and DARRYL WAKELIN (ankle) have proved their fitness while PETER BURGOYNE is available
following three weeks suspension.

The West Australian reports that at Subiaco, CHAD FLETCHER, ASHLEY McINTOSH, DREW
BANFIELD, JOSH WOODEN and DARREN GLASS all took part in full training yesterday while
MICHAEL GARDINER completed an arduous series of 400m sprints.

McCARTNEY JOINS BALI LAW SUIT Former Kangaroos AFL player JASON McCARTNEY has
joined a class action aimed at bringing down the financial backers of the Bali bombings
last October.

ABC Sport reports: McCartney joins 70 other Australians in the international law suit,
which also involves people from New Zealand, the United States, Korea and Sweden.MIKE FITZPATRICK JOINS COMMISSIONTwo-time Carlton premiership player and former
chairman of the Australian Sports Commission MIKE FITZPATRICK has replaced GRAHAM SAMUEL
on the AFL Commission.

Fitzpatrick will sit on the Commission for the next eight months before formally seeking
election at the AFL Annual Meeting in March.

JOSH FRASER, RHYCE SHAW SIGN NEW
CONTRACTSCollingwood pair JOSH FRASER and RHYCE SHAW have
re-signed with the club for a further two seasons.

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*CRIKEY* REVEALS THE ELLIOTT SAGA
A subscriber has passed along the following which appeared on Wednesday afternoon in
Australia's widely-circulated business-political newsletter *Crikey* 

Though clearly remorseful for his offence, the season
has ended abruptly for Richmond's TIM FLEMING. Last night the AFL Tribunal suspended him
for three premiership matches for striking St Kilda's NICK RIEWOLDT.

Fleming in advance of the hearing, had written a letter of apology to the St Kilda
star.

Fleming pleaded guilty to the video report laid by umpire MATTHEW HEAD and the tribunal in
confirmation, found the incident of striking Riewoldt with a raised right elbow during the
second quarter as reckless, unnecessary, late and could have seriously injured his
opponent. Riewoldt was assisted from the ground but returned later and kicked three goals
in the last quarter.

RICHMOND v ST KILDAFrom video, TIM FLEMING cited for striking NICK RIEWOLDT (StK) during the second
quarter. Fleming pleaded guilty to the charge and was suspended for three premiership
matches.

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MCG double-century for Sheedy

Essendon's KEVIN SHEEDY will coach his 200th match at
the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday when the Bombers play Richmond.

A thorough check of the AFL statistical files by master statsman COL HUTCHINSON and his
team of CAMERON SINCLAIR and STEPHEN WILLIAMSON has confirmed this milestone.

Overall, it will be Sheedy's 541st match as senior coach of the Essendon FC.

Speaking yesterday with STEPHEN RODGERS (another member of the worthy community of
statisticians), the search is just another segment of the wonderful history being revealed
by the talented team at AFL headquarters.

Sheedy has long passed the record of 179 games in which NORM SMITH led the Demons (and
briefly South Melbourne) at the MCG, while the Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney
coach TOM HAFEY did so in 173 matches.

The records also reveal that the legendary JOCK McHALE was in charge of Collingwood in 328
matches at Victoria Park during his term from 1912 to 1949. Another coaching veteran DAVID
PARKIN did so at Princes Park on 202 occasions.

MARC BULLEN  RISING STAR OF
ROUND 19A young man from Congupna, north of Shepparton,
MARC BULLEN, is the latest nomination for the National AFL Rising Star Award of 2003.

Bullen is now reaching his potential with Essendon and has been a key contributor in the
midfield in recent games against Port Adelaide (20 possessions), St Kilda (17) and Sydney
(16). Last weekend's win against the Western Bulldogs was his 10th-straight match of the
year when he kicked two goals from 12 kicks and took seven marks. His perseverance has
seen him overcome surgeries on his ankle, cheekbone and knee, which kept him out of nearly
all of season 2002.

DARWIN DEAL EXPECTED TUESDAYThe AFL are expected to sign off a deal in Darwin
on Tuesday that will take League premiership matches to the Top End in 2004, spreading the
national competition to every state and territory.

The Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide are expected to play the AFL's first premiership
match as a night game at Marrara Oval in the middle of the year at the end of the split
round. The break which follows will enable players of both clubs to recover from the
expected heat and humidity.

The West Australian reports the NT Government confirmed "money would be
involved" without saying how much it would offer to stage the match.

The Tasmanian Government pays about $300,000 per game for Hawthorn and St Kilda to host
home matches at York Park in Launceston.

RAMANAUSKAS DECLARES: MY LIFE IS NOT
IN DANGER The Age reports: Essendon coaches, players
and officials gathered for a two-hour lunch yesterday at Docklands to speak and catch up
with ADAM RAMANAUSKAS. It was the first time many of the players had seen their
22-year-old teammate since he had surgery last week for a recurrence of fibromatosis, a
rare growth condition that manifested itself as a tumour in his neck.

Adam assured them his life was not in danger, however, his career remains in jeopardy.

He is expected to start a course of radiotherapy in a few weeks.HUNGRY JACK'S STRENGTHEN DEAL WITH
EAGLESThe hamburger chain Hungry Jack's, has agreed to
becoming a major sponsor of West Coast. Its presence as co-major sponsor, with SGIO, will
become evident when the Hungry Jack's logo appears on the playing guernsey for Saturday's
match against the Cats at Geelong.

The West Australian reports: Hungry Jack's will have its logo on the club's away
guernsey and home shorts, while SGIO will retain its presence on the home guernsey and the
away shorts.

Hungry Jacks' have been a sponsor of the Eagles since 1991.

<><><><>

Martin Windsor-BlackConsecutive matches with different
outcomes

Another
quirky stat from the weekend...

With regards to *most consecutive matches wth different
outcomes* for Round 19 -

The top 3 streaks are *current* ...

Melbourne's loss on Friday night extended their record
to 10 ...Sydney increased their streak to 8 ...Richmond increased their streak to 7 ...

The
ever-alert LEONARD COLQUHOUN from Invermay jogged my memory on Monday when he pointed out,
the crowd of 61,868 which watched the Collingwood-Brisbane match on Saturday at the MCG
was the biggest home-and-away attendance to watch the Lions play anywhere in their history
of 385 games since 1987.

Leonard has also put together the top crowds of all-time, featuring the
non-Victorian clubs 

Richmond's TIM FLEMING has been cited for striking St
Kilda's NICK RIEWOLDT in Saturday night's game at Docklands Stadium.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday night and is the only case so far arising from
the weekend's Heritage round.

GARY AYRES TO SET CLUB RECORDThe Advertiser highlights the fact that GARY
AYRES will take over the mantle as the longest-serving coach of the Adelaide FC when the
Crows play Collingwood on Friday night at Docklands.

Ayres will coach the Crows for the 91st time, passing the 90 matches of which GRAHAM
CORNES, Adelaide's inaugural coach set between 1991 and 1994.

Adelaide's other coaches have been ROBERT SHAW (1995-96) and MALCOLM BLIGHT (1997-99).

Ayres also coached Geelong in 186 matches (1995-99).WAFL  FIRST GOALLESS TEAM SINCE
1916Before Saturday afternoon, East Perth were riding
in second place on the WAFL ladder and on track to win their fourth consecutive
premiership.

The Royals are still certain finalists, but as every club learns, down the track there is
always a "Bad Day"  East Perth suffered it against age-old rivals West
Perth in the match played in atrocious conditions caused by heavy rain at Arena Joondalup.

Their scoreline for the day read  0.1, 0.5, 0.6  0.9-9  to become the
first club since May 13, 1916, to be goalless. West Perth won 7.13-55 to 0.9-9.

It's an old chestnut, but I love recalling what happened in VFL footy in 1970.

Carlton on a high of eight successive wins went to Victoria Park in Round 19 where they
were monumentally thrashed by Collingwood by 77 points, 13.23-101 to 2.12-24, the lowest
score of the season.

Seven weeks later on Saturday, September 26th, Carlton defeated Collingwood at the MCG to
win the 1970 premiership.

THOMAS ROACH IS RICHMOND'S
FATHER-SON CALLThe Tigers have announced it will take THOMAS
ROACH, the son of Michael Roach in November's national draft under the father-son rule.
The 17-year-old is 181cm and still growing. Michael played 200 games for the Tigers
(1977-89) and kicked 607 goals.

Thomas has shown enough playing for Carey Grammar and the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup
to convince Richmond he was worth the price of a third-round draft pick.

The Heritage idea was fantastic seeing the old guernsey's. It was great to see the old
Fitzroy jumper going around the MCG on Saturday afternoon against Collingwood. - Seems
like old times! Melbourne recorded their 100th scoreless quarter - a milestone of an event
which happened very frequently in the early history of the competition.

The emotional finish at the Docklands when Burkey with his battle scars from his 323 game
career, did a lap of honour and passed his number 3 guernsey on to Xavier Clarke. The
Hawks triumphed over the Swans at the SCG for the first time in 9 years. Lloyd broke many
records, including the club record, the first to kick 6 in a quarter since Jeff Farmer for
Melbourne against Collingwood in Round 14, 2000, the first to kick 10 since Round 6, 2001
and the highest tally since Scott Cummings in Round 4, 2000.

Did you know? That Collingwood and Fitzroy never met on the MCG on a Saturday in a home
and away match. They did however meet on 16 occasions in finals....1902-SF, 1903-GF,
1904-SF, 1905-GF, 1913-SF, 1915-SF, 1916-SF, 1917-PF, 1917-GF, 1920-SF, 1922-SF, 1922-GF
(the last time the Fitzroy Lions defeated the Magpies at the MCG), 1952-PF, 1960-PF,
1979-SF & 1981-SF. The two actually met in an Elimination Final in 1984 - the first
Final to be played on a Sunday!

THE STATS THAT MATTER ...<> the AFL designated the weekend as the
"Heritage Round"  14 of the 16 member clubs wore guernseys reflecting
chapters in their history ... NATHAN BURKE retired from the game with his 323rd match for
St Kilda  the club record of service ... MATTHEW LLOYD with his 8th goal of the
match became the greatest goalkicker of the Essendon FC passing the record of 575 goals
held by SIMON MADDEN (1974-1992) ...

MELBOURNE v GEELONG<> at their 195th meeting, not since 1913-R16 at Corio Oval have Melbourne
been held scoreless in the third quarter against the Cats ... the Demons' final score of
6.9-45 bears comparison with 4.6-30 in 1996-R16 at Kardinia Park ... no other new match
records were noted ... it is the fourth occasion, Melbourne have been 3.8-26 against
Geelong at three-quarter time ...

1928-R2-MCG

3.8-26

v Gee
3.16-34

MEL, WON

1956-R16-MCG

3.8-26

v Gee
5.9-39

GEE, WON

1985-R7-KP

3.8-26

v Gee
8.10-58

GEE, WON

2003-R19(n)-MCG

3.8-26

v Gee
8.14-62

GEE, WON

... 50th by umpire BRETT
ROSEBURY 2000-03 ...

COLLINGWOOD v BRISBANE<> the attendance of 61,868 is a home-and-away record for any Brisbane
match in their history of 1987-2003 ... in the 25th meeting Brisbane's 8.2-50 was a new
high opening quarter against Collingwood ... no other new match records were noted ...
100th career game SHANE O'BREE (Collingwood) 2000-03 ... 100th for Collingwood PAUL
LICURIA 1999-2003; also 10 Syd 1997-98 ... 50th for Collingwood BRODIE HOLLAND 2001-03;
also 36 Fre 1998-2000 ... (umpires wore red tops and socks, mant shorts) ...
WEST COAST v ADELAIDE<> the Crows at their 8th visit registered their second win over the Eagles
at Subiaco  previously they won by 25pts in 1998-R22  Adelaide also lost to
West Coast in two visits to the WACA in 1992 and 2000 ... Adelaide held the Eagles to a
goalless quarter for a 5th time of 21 contests 

1st Qu:

0.1-1

1997-R14(n)-FP

2nd Qu:

0.2-2

2000-R19(n)-FP

2nd Qu:

0.5-5

1995-R4(n)-FP

3rd Qu:

0.1-1

2001-R14(n)-FP

3rd Qu:

0.3-3

2003-R19-S

... Adelaide became the first
interstate side to win at Subiaco in season 2003 ...

RICHMOND v ST KILDA<> the Saints in their 161st meeting enjoyed one of the biggest wins over
Richmond 

1972-R6-M

89pts

StK
24.21-165 v Rch 10.16-76

1961-R16-JO

83pts

StK
12.19-91 v Rch 0.8-8

2003-R19(n)-Dok

80pts

StK
20.10-130 v Rch 7.8-50

1983-R20-P

75pts

StK
21.14-140 v Rch 9.11-65

1986-R17-M

75pts

StK
20.9-129 v Rch 7.12-54

... Richmond's 7.8-50 was the
lowest against the Saints since 5.11-41 in 1988-R13 when St Kilda 8.18-66 won at Moorabbin
... NATHAN BURKE retired from the game with his 323rd match for St Kilda  the club
record of service ... 100th GREG TIVENDALE (Richmond) 1998-2003 ... 50th for St Kilda
FRASER GEHRIG 2001-03; also 115 WCE 1995-2000 ... (umpires wore orange tops and socks,
navy shorts) ...
SYDNEY v HAWTHORN<> it was Hawthorn's fourth successive win against Sydney, but it's first
win at the SCG since 1994-R12 ending six straight defeats  1996-R4, 1996-4QF(n),
1997-R20, 1998-R9, 1999-R7, 2003-R13 ... the crowd of 33,473 was the best at the SCG since
2000-R4(n) when 34,687 watched Collingwood play the Swans ... no other new match records
were noted ... (umpires wore gold tops and socks, navy shorts) ...
PORT ADELAIDE v CARLTON<> Port won its fourth successive game against the Blues ... no new match
records were noted ... (umpires wore red tops and socks, navy shorts) ...
ESSENDON v WEST.B'DOGS<> MATTHEW LLOYD (Ess) kicked six goals in the first quarter  the
all-time record is eight goals by Collingwood's GORDON COVENTRY in 1929-R13-VP versus
Hawthorn on the day Coventry kicked 16.5 for the match ... MATTHEW LLOYD with his 8th goal
of the match (during the third quarter) became the greatest goalkicker of the Essendon FC,
passing the record of 575 goals held by SIMON MADDEN (1974-1992) ... Lloyd finished with
11.1 for the match, his third double-digit tally in his 160th game with the Bombers 

13.4

1999-R3-MCG

22.17-149
v Syd 9.14-68

10.4

2001-R6-Dok

24.14-158
v WCE 10.10-70

11.1

2003-R19-Dok

22.15-147
v WB 12.8-80

... Lloyd also equalled the
club record of GEOFF BLETHYN who kicked 11 goals against the Bulldogs in 1972-R12-WH ...
no other new match records were noted ... (umpires wore orange tops and socks, navy
shorts) ...
KANGAROOS v FREMANTLE<> at the 11th meeting of the pair, Fremantle beat the Kangaroos for the
first time outside of Perth ... the Dockers scored their 3rd win at the MCG  the
other two were against Melbourne, 1999-R10(n) and 2003-R9 ... it was the second occasion
there's been a one-point margin  the Kangas won 83 to 82 in 2002-R15 at Manuka Oval
... no other new match records were noted ... (umpires wore gold tops and socks, navy
shorts) ...

<><><><>

Saturday, August 9

Swans' Team of the CenturyBob Skilton captain, Paul Kelly his
deputy

A selection panel embraced 129 years of history of the South Melbourne-Sydney club when a
squad of 25 playing members was announced at a glittering function for 2000 guests at the
Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, on Friday night, August 8th.

Triple Brownlow Medallist BOB SKILTON was named captain, with the recently retired PAUL
KELLY as his deputy.

In a worthy selection, the powerful ruckman-defender VIC BELCHER, the only man to have
played in two premiership teams for the club, in 1909 and 1918, was named in the back
pocket.

Players of all eras were considered with BOB PRATT, BILL FAUL, HERB MATTHEWS, HARRY CLARKE
and LAURIE NASH named from the exciting 1930s, while JACK BISSETT who coached the Swans to
the 1933 premiership, and to successive grand finals in 1934-35-36 was named Coach of the
Century.

Of the 10 players who have won a record 12 Brownlow Medals for the red and white, nine
were named in the team.

The team was selected from a list of 66 nominees, all of whom played at
least 75 games during the history of the club since 1874.

The only current player to be named in the distinguished group is DARYN CRESSWELL.

Team of the Century selectors were  Rick Quade:Team of the Century Chairman of Selectors. Played 164 games for the Swans between
1970-1980 kicking 111 goals, Best and Fairest winner in 1976, captain 1977-1979 and coach
from 1982-1984.Bill Jacobs:Former Sports journalist for 3AW and one of the selectors for the AFL Team of the
Century. Former Manager of Australian Cricket team and Sports journalist for 3AW.John Heriot:Former player and President of the Swans Past Players in Melbourne. Played 153 games
between 1958-1968 kicking 39 goals. Selected in the 1961 interstate carnival. Vice-captain
to Bob Skilton and runner-up Best and Fairest in 1964.Dennis Carroll:Former player and captain of the Swans from 1986-1992. Played 219 games for the Club
between 1981-1993 and kicked 117 goals. Was also selected to play representative football
for both NSW and Victoria.Jim Main:Co-author of "The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers" (with Russell
Holmesby).

<><><><>

Friday, August 8

FURTHER SURGERY FOR RAMANAUSKAS

Essendon midfielder ADAM RAMANAUSKAS will miss the
remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on Thursday to remove a second tumour
from his neck and shoulder area.

The Age reports: The delicate operation, performed over several hours yesterday
afternoon, not only ended the premiership player's season, but raised doubts about whether
he will be able to return to the field. Essendon doctor Bruce Reid conceded, in a
statement released by the club yesterday, that the Bombers were unsure what the long-term
ramifications were for Ramanauskas's future.

Essendon has been devastated by the news, Ramanauskas only having returned in round 12
from his first bout of surgery for a similar growth. He was slow to regain his form after
his initial lay-off, which began after round three, but had returned to close to his
dashing best in recent weeks, particularly good in the Dons' win over Melbourne less than
a fortnight ago.

Ramanauskas has requested that his and his family's privacy be respected while he recovers
from the surgery.FOXTEL AIMS FOR ALL GAMES LIVEPay TV telecaster Foxtel are aiming to broadcast
every home-and-away game live beyond 2006.

CAROLINE WILSON in The Age reveals: At present, the Fox Footy Channel has the
rights to show three of the eight weekly games exclusively and live but cannot screen the
remaining five until they have been shown by its free-to-air consortium partners Channels
Ten or Nine.

And in another significant twist certain to prove more costly to football fans, The Age
has learnt that the AFL has forwarded a submission to the Federal Government to give pay
TV the exclusive rights in future to as many as four finals each year, including one
preliminary final.

The Foxtel move has obvious parallels with Premier League soccer in Britain, where no
games are shown live free-to-air ... more ...

HERITAGE ROUND CURTAIN-RAISERSThe celebration of this weekend's Heritage Round
will feature two important curtain-raisers.

Before the Melbourne-Geelong match on Friday night, Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar
will be featured  recognising a link dating back to 1858 when the schoolboys met in
a game of football on the Yarra Park land where the MCG now stands.

On Saturday afternoon, also at the MCG, prior to the clash between Collingwood and the
Brisbane Lions, a curtain-raiser will have the Fitzroy Reds from the Victorian Amateurs
playing West Brunswick. The Reds still proudly wear the colours of the Fitzroy club.